This question is soo annoying... I need it answered, lol.

Okay - Feeding fish, such as tropical fish worms, live food, etc. each day is bad.

Does this apply to oscars? I always hear about people feeding them dead shrimp, crickets, live bugs... Is live food actually their main diet? It can't be good for them, can it?

Doesn't the Hikari pellets give enough protein and vitamins?

Can someone tell me all the recommended foods that I should buy for one oscar? And tell me how often (Monday feed ____), etc...

Thank you!

in the wild an oscars diet is roughly 60% insects. your oscar could live fine on a good brand of pellet food like hikari cichlid gold, however its nice to give them frozen food like bloodworm or brin shrimp every now and then. you can feed your oscar pretty much anything you can find in the garden like worms and grasshoppers but make sure no pestacides are used as they will harm your oscar.

i feed my 2 oscars hikari pellets twice daily and 3 times a week they get frozen blood worm and every now and then i will hunt in the garden and give them worms and grasshoppers:).

hope this helps

in the wild Oscars will feed on small fish, and also a lots of insects. During the wet season, the forest gets flooded and the fish feed in the this area. Lots of insects that normally live in the trees end up in the water. Crickets, beetles, spiders, anything really that you find living in plant life. Oscars are not going to find Hikari pellets floating around the Amazon so live food is by far the best diet for them as long as it doesn't consist of just small fish you have got from the fish store. Big juicy crickets, worms, spiders, big beetles, even flies. These all contain vitamins which is what keeps living creatures healthy. You could also feed them shrimps, krill, muscles, and cockles.

pellets are very good because the good-quality ones do you contain vitamins. After all, not everyone likes handling worms, insects and the such.

Okay

Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday - Hikari Chichlid Pellets (Fed twice daily)

Thursday, Friday, Saturday - Treats, such as Dead Grasshoppers, Frozen Bloodworms, Live Grindal Worms. (Once daily?)

_____

Most fish go by the "Feed as much as they will consume within 5 minutes"...

Does this rule also apply to Oscars?

This will be the schedule for a 2 inch oscar. I will only feed live food on an occasion... I really don't like to touch bugs.

firstly i would go by 3 minites not 5:).

personally i would spread the treats out over the week..ie..treats monday, wednesday and sataday..

if you do this with the foods you say your oscar should be extremely happy and love you alot:)

for very small Oscars, a mixed variety of food three times a day will help them grow quickly. once they reach 5 inches, you could start feeding them a couple of times a day. Then when they hit 7 inches, you don't need to feed them any more than once a day, as much as they can eight in around three minutes, that's what I have always done and my Oscars are nearly 11 inches now.

OFL wrote:


Wow, 3 times a day... sounds like too much work for me to handle, lol.

Do you recommend buying a bigger oscar rather than a baby one?

Because, my PetsMart over here sell them in small or large...

Should I raise it as a baby?

its up to you, small oscars do need feeding 3 times daily, if you cant do this then buy a bigger:). i love them at evey age so i dont think your missing out if you buy a bigger one you just get the joys of watching it move everthing in your tank and give you attitude lol:)

Hey all,
I'm new here but not a total novice.
I personally would stay far far away from Petsmart and Petco.
Awhile back I purchased a baby tiger O and it died within days. Yes all the parameters where fine in an extremely established and cycled tank (75 G).
Went back and got a larger one from Petsmart. Same thing 2 days, dead.
:angry:

So after wising up I went to my reputable LFS and bought a baby Red O and asked them to quarintine it for a week to see if Hex or anyother parasite or things arrived. Nothing happend and my Red O is now 6 months and is about 6".

The point is ... While yes you can get a better idea if your O is healthy when it is bigger. But you do miss out on all that growing and clownish behaviour.
If you cant feed yours 3 times daily maybe you can get one of those feeders that could do it for you for the times that you cant. And a reputable dealer is well worth the extra $10.

Just my 2 cents and good luck on whichever choice you make. Remember the best one was desiding on an O in the first place.

i bought my last 2 oscars at petsmart and they are doing just fine. i picked them up in febuary and the red oscar is now almost 8 inches the albino about 6 1/2 inches. also got my female jack dempsey form there and 9 of my wifes africans without a single fatality yet. i guess it just depends on the store in your area. the one here is actually really good with service and advice.

i got my red o frop pet smart and he is 7 inches now and doing great:)

one thing most people missed here was that if you do feed a mixed diet the colour of your fish will be more to its natural colour and more vibrate. Pellets alone give your fish a fake colour. as for shops i think its hit and miss where ever you go, some are bad others good. the point is the fish shop owner cant alway choose the perfect stock.